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Etrancoasti dialects
The Etrancoasti language has two major dialects: the Northern Dialect and Southern Dialect. The difference is mainly pronounciation, but it does not render them mutually unintelligible - the two dialects are still 99% mutually intelligible with each other, and any unintelligibility originates in slang exclusive to that dialect rather than pronunciation. Etrancoasti also has considerable cross-dialectal variation. The dialects Northern Etrancoasti * Guttural R: /r/ is pronounced as a uvular trill/approximant ʀ~ʁ̞. The syllabic /r̩/ or /ər/ is pronounced as ɐ. The geminated /rː/ is always a uvular trill ʀː. * The front vowels /e ɪ i ʏ y/ are centralized to ɪ̈ ɨ ʏ̈ ʉ before coda-position /r/. * The diphthongs /ui̯ ei̯ øy̯ oi̯ ɛe̯ œø̯ ai̯/ become eʉ̯ øʉ̯ oʉ̯ ɛə̯ œə̯ aʉ̯ before /r/. * /l/ is pronounced as a velarized dental ɫ̪. /l/ is palatalized to ʎ before /j/ and /i/, but not /ɪ/. * /n tʰ t s z/ are dental t̪ʰ t̪~d̪ s̪ z̪ * /t͡ʃʰ t͡ʃ ʃ/ are palato-alveolar t͡ʃ~d͡ʒ ʃ Southern Etrancoasti The accent of Southern Etrancoast shares a lot of features with the Etrandish Copperport dialect, such as the retroflex articulation of R, alveolo-palatal shibilants and affrication of alveolar stop + /r/ clusters. It is not known if it was Southern Etrancoasti influencing the Copperport dialect or the other way around. * Thick R: /r/ is pronounced as a retroflex flap ɽ in the syllable onset, a retroflex approximant ɻ in the syllable coda (except before stop consonants, where it's still a flapped ɽ). The syllabic /r̩/ or /ər/ is pronounced as an R-coloured vowel ɚ. The geminated /rː/ is an apico-alveolar trill r̺. The retroflex articulation of /r/ is a feature shared with the Etrandish Copperport dialect. * /l/ is pronounced as a clear apico-alveolar l̺. In coda-positions, it may be retracted to a retroflex ɭ place of articulation. * /n tʰ t s z/ are lamino-alveolar t̻ʰ t̻~d̻ s̻ z̻. * /tʰr tr/ are affricated to ʈ͡ʂɻ~ɖ͡ʐɻ, another feature shared with the Etrandish Copperport dialect. * /t͡ʃʰ t͡ʃ ʃ/ are alveolo-palatal t͡ɕ~d͡ʑ ɕ, another feature shared with the Etrandish Copperport dialect. Cross-dialectal variation Some variation in Etrancoasti pronunciation transcends dialectal boundaries. Examples of variation independent of dialects include: * The palatalization of the velar /kʰ k x ɣ/ before front vowels and /j/ ** In Standard Etrancoasti, they are meant to be consistently pronounced as purely velar k~g x ɣ. This pronunciation however is restricted to upper-class speakers, and middle-class speakers, many of whom are bilingual and can also speak Etrandish. ** The use of palatalized velar kʲ~gʲ xʲ ɣʲ is currently the most widespread pronunciation in both the North and the South, although ɣʲ are usually replaced by ʝ. ** The use of post-palatal / pre-velar k̟~g̟ x̟ ɣ̟ is also relatively widespread, but declining. ** The use of purely palatal c~ɟ ç ʝ is currently the rarest pronunciation, but getting more and more widespread in both the North and the South. Within one or two centuries, it may go from being the rarest to the most widespread. * Labio-palatalization: ** /kʷʰ kʷ w/ are meant to be consistently realized as kʷ~gʷ w in Standard Etrancoasti ** In both the North and the South, the majority of speakers realize /kʷʰ kʷ/ as labio-palatalized velar kᶣ~gᶣ and /w/ as a labio-velar ɥ before front vowels. ** Speakers who completely palatalize /kʰ k x ɣ/ to c~ɟ ç ʝ before front vowels will typically realize /kʷʰ kʷ w/ as cᶣ~ɟᶣ ɥ before front vowels. /wi/ may be even coalesced into y instead of ɥi - for example, /rɪkʷʰi/ may be pronounced as ɽɪcy~ʀɪcy instead of ɽɪcᶣʰi~ʀɪcᶣʰi. * Vowel reduction: the shift of word-final /ɑ/ and /e/ to ə is not mainstream yet, but getting increasingly widespread in both the North and the South. Category:Earldom of Etrancoast